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Behind The Lens
Location
This private fishing lake is located just outside of the town where I live in northern Germany. I often drove by with my bicycle. So when I saw that the leaves were nicely colorored that year, it was just a matter of finding the right moment...Time
It was an early November afternoon, the leaves where already starting to fall, so it was the last chance to take this photo. In order to get the sun rays on the trees, I had to be there about 3pm, so I could only make the shot on the weekend. Luckily, at the very last occasion, we had a nice weather with sun and some clouds.Lighting
I wanted the sun to shine on the trees with some golden light, so I knew I had to be there in the afternoon just before sunset.Equipment
I made this picture with a Nikon D2Hs. I used the exposure bracketing function to make a series of shots with different exposures with just one press of a button. As the camera supports 8fps, I could take 5 shots in less than a second. So even as they were taken handheld, I could use them to combine them into a HDR picture.Inspiration
When I walk my dog or drive around with my bicycle, I'm always looking for interesting places. With the right light almost anything can look great. When I found this lake, I liked the structure of the tree line and the reflection in the calm water.Editing
I merged 5 pictures into a HDR and did some tone mapping to get the final resultIn my camera bag
The picture was taken over 6 years ago with a crop DSLR, since then I moved on to a full frame DSLR. But as the equipment got more and more heavy (I'm a lens freak ;) ), I decided to "go light" and switch to micro four thirds. Nowadays, I use an OM System OM-1. Depending on the circumstances, I choose my lenses to carry. When I go to the zoo, I take my 150-400mm lens, my "bread-and-butter" lens is my 2.8/12-40mm. When I want to go light, I use the camera with the 1.7/20mm pancake and a 1.8/45mm portrait lens as a very small package. I also like fisheye lenses (apart from the typical "big-nose" shots, you can use a fisheye as an "almost-macro" which also show the surroundings of subject, so I often have the 1.8/8mm fisheye with me.Feedback
A key 'trick' to train my eye was using the dog walks. I often walk the same routes, but by walking them almost daily throughout the years, I got a better feeling for the changes in nature throughout the year. I often take my camera with me, typically with one lens. So I try to look and think with that focal length. It is astonishing how this can change what you see on "well known" routes, when working with different lenses. When I take a macro, I suddenly see little bugs and spider nets next to the road. With a super wide angle, I look up to the tree tops etc. The combination of different seasons, different times of day and different lenses lets you see something new on any occasion - even on well beaten paths. You do not have to travel to exotic locations to find great subjects, you just have to open your eyes and your mind...